12. This one was also pre-Columbine, the worst until VA Tech:

On October 16, 1991, 35-year-old George "Jo Jo" Pierre Hennard, an unemployed merchant seaman who was described by others as angry and withdrawn, with a dislike of women, drove his blue 1987 Ford Ranger pickup truck through the front window of a Luby's cafeteria at 1705 East Central Texas Expressway in Killeen. Yelling "This is what Bell County did to me!", Hennard then opened fire on its patrons and staff with a Glock 17 pistol and, later, a Ruger P89. He stalked, shot, and killed 23 people while wounding another 20 before committing suicide. At least 80 people were in the restaurant at the time.

The first victim was local veterinarian Michael Griffith, 48, who ran to the driver's side of the pickup truck to offer assistance to the driver after the truck crashed through the window. Hennard also approached 32-year-old Suzanna Hupp and her parents. Hupp reached for her .38 revolver in her purse, only to realize she had left it in her vehicle. Her father Al, 71, rushed at Hennard in an attempt to subdue him but was fatally shot in the chest. A short time later, as Hupp was escaping, her mother Ursula, 67, was shot in the head and killed as she cradled her wounded husband.

During the massacre, Hennard allowed a woman and her four-year-old child to leave. Another patron, Tommy Vaughn, threw himself through a plate-glass window, sustaining injuries, but by doing so he created an escape route for himself and other customers.

Hennard reloaded several times and still had ammunition remaining when he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after exchanging shots with, and being wounded by a responding police officer.

13. And 1986 Edmond, Oklahoma where the term "going postal" was born

10. True, but I think it's sort of a "Come Full Circle" thing . . .

. . . in the sense that, like you said, we haven't learned a single thing from it. Granted, no life is less important than another, but I think the implication is that Columbine drew national attention on a lot of levels, mainly because kids were killed for no reason.

18. The 19th anniversary of this local one was last week. I saw him before it happened

This man Alan Winterbourne was in the lobby of my company less than two weeks before he shot up the local unemployment office and killed four people. He was long-term unemployed, distraught, disheveled and screamed repeatedly, things like, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?" "WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET A JOB INTERVIEW AROUND HERE??" "I NEED A JOB, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?"

It was the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me at work. I was in the lobby talking to the receptionist and it happened right in front of me.

If he had been armed that day I and several others would have been killed point-blank. I'm still not sure how someone got him calmed down and out of the building. But soon others would not be so lucky. The fuse hat already been lit and was burning down.

More here:

"Every day for eight years, systems analyst Alan Winterbourne tried to find a job. And every day he failed. Then one day it all became too much."